Ingredients:
4 slices bacon
2 lb ground turkey thigh
2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
10 oz shredded red cabbage
2 serrano peppers, diced
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
2 1/2 cups cooked white rice*
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
chopped flat leaf parsley

Directions:
Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Add the onion, zucchini, celery and peppers and saute until the onion is just translucent. Add the turkey and cook, breaking up any large chunks. Add the cabbage and cook until the zucchini and cabbage is tender and the turkey is nearly fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice, spices and stock. Stir until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Crumble the reserved bacon and stir it in. Stir in parsley. Serve.

*I used leftover rice from Indian take-out that I allowed to come to room temperature. Alternatively, use freshly cooked (hot) jasmine or basmati rice.

My thoughts:

I had some rice leftover from take out, some turkey from the milkman, odds and ends of vegetables in the crisper from other recipes and I put them all together and ended up with this. It is sort of a cross between dirty rice (minus the liver) and bacon rice (minus the egg and Asian flair). I’m always getting requests for more 1 dish meals and I see the appeal, less to clean! Plus making the bacon in the same pan you cook everything else in infuses the whole dish with a hint of smoky piggyness. It is rather hot thanks to the serrano pepper. If you’d like less heat use jalapeño peppers instead.